


Breach the Sky with Maple Leaf Spines

by Jsyrin



Category: Godzilla - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Adorable Midoriya Izuku, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Mineta Minoru Dies, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-14 07:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16035482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jsyrin/pseuds/Jsyrin
Summary: Midoriya Izuku has a Quirk.Unfortunately, it set his heart on fire when he was born and only got weirder since then.Now if only he could be a hero without irradiating just about everything...(Or: Midoriya Izuku is basically a tiny Godzilla)





	1. Heart of Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Leviathan](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13216827) by [rest_in_rip](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rest_in_rip/pseuds/rest_in_rip). 



> I don't know why I did this but it just rummaged in my head ever since I read Leviathan by rest_in_rip. So yeah. The King is here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Midoriya Izuku was born, he was birthed in a wave of fire and pain.

 

When Midoriya Izuku was born, he was birthed in a wave of fire and pain.

 

His mother- Midoriya Inko, bless her heart, screamed and writhed as the burning form of her son was pulled from her womb in a spray of what felt like hellfire and steam, crushing the hand of her husband, Midoriya Hisashi, in sheer agony while around them the hapless hospital staff raced around for something, anything that could handle the wailing, burning child whose every movement was punctuated by a burst of flame emanating from his tiny mouth and a flash of bubbling, boiling skin across his upper torso.

 

Doctors with healing Quirks rushed into the room at once, trying to prevent Inko from dying of blood loss while at the same time the hospital staff confined young Izuku into a chilled chamber, freezing the air within such that the glowing orange patch that was his heart burning through his own body began to recede and his pained struggles began to die down, slowly, every so slowly.

 

All the while, Midoriya Inko fought for every last breath, every last, shuddering, beat of her heart as her body tried fitfully to heal from the birth of her child, her burning, blinding, boiling child. Hisashi grimaced as Inko finally healed and the strain of the birth, the pain, and her recovery caused her to faint from exhaustion, with the silent cries of his son, Midoriya Izuku, echoed faintly through his mind as if the sleeping child was still screaming.

 

He bit his lip- obviously, his son had a Quirk, an amazingly powerful one if it could generate such heat and power at birth, but… it was a dangerous one, without control nor safety, his son would cause nothing but pain to those around him. Just the body heat emanating from Izuku was bad enough on its own if it could make his own skin burn away with a flare of orange light emanating from what must have been a furnace replacing his heart, but the fact that the child could not only breathe fire but also had tiny spikes growing out of his back… Hisashi stared at his wife, his brow furrowed and lips pursed as his stomach roiled with a swell of fear and panic and disgust that threatened to cause the flames he generated within- the flames which he had given to his son!- to boil over and spill forth from his tightly closed lips.

 

To cause such pain just from being born… Hisashi felt a chill crawl up his spine, his hands bunching up into fists and crumpling the material of his pants. His child was… _dangerous_. And even if it were true that almost all Quirks that were dangerous at birth would become less so as their owners grew up, almost none were quite so destructive right at birth as Izuku’s. His rational side protested, though, against his instinctive fear of his own son’s Quirk. Izuku was innocent, he argued silently, he didn’t, couldn’t possibly control his Quirk at all since he was just barely born not a few hours before. Hisashi slapped himself a few times- how could he possibly act like this to his son already!? Just barely born and already with someone against him? No, Hisash had to be better than that- Izuku’s Quirk may have been out of control, but he wouldn’t let that stop him from loving the boy. Inko wouldn’t allow him to.

 

Barely two days later, Midoriya Izuku became the official third member of the Midoriya household.

 

Two days later, Midoriya Izuku was confined to life in a radiation proof room until he could control the raging furnace in his heart.

 

* * *

 

 

All things considered, Midoriya Inko mused as she busied herself around the house, Izuku was not a problematic child- not counting the overwhelming amounts of ionizing nuclear radiation pouring out of his tiny body, of course. Izuku didn’t really much cry, or scream, or fuss, or do anything except smile and giggle occasionally, or quietly play with the few toys he had that could withstand the pressure of constant radiation bombardment. Certainly, there were moments- Izuku sometimes would become scared of loud noises or cry when he needed a good burping and his heart would flare up something fierce, but most of the time there was barely more than a faint red patch on his chest, pulsing in time with his burning heart.

 

Hisashi had taken quite a shine to Izuku, even more than she herself had, though with his work taking him further and further away on business trips more and more often, well, it was rare that he ever saw his own son.

 

It was a shame that Izuku couldn’t leave his room at all without flooding the area with a dose of, if not lethal, then fairly dangerous radiation- her friend Mitsuki had a son about Izuku’s age and since the Bakugou family lived just down the street it would have been easy to introduce the two boys- maybe Izuku would have been a good influence on little Katsuki. Mitsuki certainly complained enough that Katsuki was a little handful (though in much less polite words).

 

Though, it was also just as likely that little Katsuki would end up bullying Izuku, a thought which only served to worry Inko about ever letting her precious baby boy out of the house. With a Quirk like his… if he never gained control, he’d almost certainly never be able to handle himself out in the real world…

 

It sent a shiver down her spine, thinking of what might happen to her son, what future he might have.

 

With a heavy sigh, Inko shook away the dread that settled over her like a cloak and prepared herself to feed Izuku, removing a premade bottle of milk from the refrigerator as she donned the heavy radiation suit that she was forced to wear so her own son wouldn’t accidentally poison her.

 

* * *

 

 

As Izuku grew older, Inko found herself relieved to find that the radiation output her son gave off lessened with each year- in fact, at three years old his output was so negligible that it was almost comparable to a cell phone, though whenever he became agitated his heart would begin to burn once again.

 

As it was, Izuku was finally allowed out of his safety room, allowed to take his first, wondrous steps out into a world that was so much bigger, so much _more_ than anything he’d ever imagined- and that was just the apartment!

 

That said, even though he very much enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny of their neighborhood, and the places outside where Inko took him occasionally, his favorite thing to play with was firmly inside- the computer that was his access to the thousands upon thousands of videos about Izuku’s favorite thing in the whole wide world: heroes.

 

“Mama! Mama!” Izuku giggled as he pawed at the computer chair in Hisashi’s office room, the man himself off across the ocean for some business trip or another- something about information being mishandled, Inko believed. “Computer! Computer!”

 

“Yes, yes,” Inko smiled indulgently, helping Izuku up into the slightly too tall chair and raising it up to desk height, turning on the computer and navigating to the bookmarked video in question. Izuku bounced rapidly in his seat, the faintest traces of nuclear fire burning in his eyes out of sheer excitement, though since Inko’s geiger counter failed to screech out a warning, she knew Izuku was keeping it relatively under control at the moment. “This video again? You watch it so much I’m surprised you haven’t already memorized every last second!”

 

“Mhmm!” Izuku nodded rapidly, the smile on his face growing ever wider as he watched the video of All Might’s big debut, the familiar sound of crackling flames emanating from the speakers. Inko turned away, grimacing. She never could handle such scenes of violence, they always made her so afraid. Still, it was Izuku’s favorite video and she wasn’t about to make him stop when it was his single greatest motivation to control his Quirk.

 

As the PSAs went, one couldn’t be a hero if they didn’t put their fullest ability into making sure their Quirk would save people instead of hurting them.

 

As Inko went off to prepare dinner, the raucous voice of All Might rang out, tinny and small from the low quality of the video, but inspiring enough that it left Izuku cheering and waving about his All Might figurine in nothing less than sheer excitement.

 

“Everything is fine now! Why? Because I AM HERE!” Izuku cheered along with All Might, standing up on the swivel chair and raising his arms to the sky with a triumphant grin, a burst of unrestrained emotion causing flame to flicker from his mouth for a brief instant, the tiny increase in radiation causing Inko’s geiger counter to let off an aborted shriek before Izuku suppressed his flaming heart with a tiny yelp of surprise.

 

“Sorry mama!” he called out, gently sitting back down.

 

“It’s alright dear,” Inko shook her head, biting her lip and wondering if she would one day develop cancer from proximity to her own son. She shook the thought from her head, even if she did, that wouldn’t change the fact that she would still do anything and everything she could to make sure that Izuku could succeed in life, even if his own Quirk seemed to be determined to make him a walking ecological disaster. The radiation shielding that was built into his room and even his clothing helped with that, at least.

 

The other more pressing issue was that, quite simply… Izuku didn’t have any friends. He’d been isolated since birth, actually, and the only people he’d ever met without just being faces in a crowd were Inko and Hisashi. That, at least, was an easy fix.

 

Three days after Inko made up her mind and called Mitsuki after Izuku double-triple-promised from the bottom of his nuclear heart that he’d control himself, Midoriya Izuku officially met Bakugou Katsuki.

 

For years to come, Mitsuki could only ever say that, despite one child having literal nitroglycerin for sweat and the other having a thermonuclear fusion reactor for a heart, the two of them meeting was quite possibly the best thing that ever could have happened… well, for Katsuki’s temper, at least.

 

* * *

 

 

“See, if you read the kanji differently, Izuku means Deku! Which means useless!” Kacchan crowed proudly, holding aloft Izuku’s favorite bucket, a bright, cheerfully red thing with a yellow handle, Izuku’s name written proudly upon it by his mother. Izuku sat on the ground a few feet away as Kacchan’s friends clapped in awe, every last one of them enamoured with how smart he was. Izuku pursed his lips in thought as he stared at the half finished sand castle that Kacchan had decided to interrupt the construction of.

 

“Does that mean that I’m useless, Kacchan?” Izuku questioned, looking up at Kacchan with wide open eyes, his irises glimmering with green and flecks of gold.

 

Kacchan frowned and lobbed the bucket back at Izuku, the cheap plastic bouncing off of his head with a dull thump and a quietly murmur of annoyance as sand fell into Izuku’s hair. “Of course not, _Izuku_! But you might as well be useless compared to me, because I’m the best! The number one!”

 

Izuku let out a little noise of realization, mouth shaped into a tiny O as he blinked and processed what Kacchan said. “Ah! Yeah, that’s right! You are the best, Kacchan! You’re so smart! You can already read kanji way better than me!”

 

“Damn right I can!” Kacchan puffed his chest out with a wide, cocky grin, the sun shining upon his face as if he were the chosen one. It was true, too, that Kacchan could read better than Izuku could- after all, even if Inko tried her best to give him books to read, the fact that she had to stay away most of the time to keep from poisoning herself left Izuku’s education rather lacking. Internally, Izuku thought that Kacchan would be a great hero- they both liked All Might, after all, and a Quirk as cool and useful as Kacchan’s explosions would be great for a hero, especially with his drive. Kacchan paraded around for a little while longer, his hands sparking with beautiful little crackles of flame and heat that almost made Izuku wish he had Kacchan’s Quirk instead of his Nuclear Heart. Around him, Kacchan’s other friends marched around, playing some game or another while Kacchan himself watched, almost like an imperious king over his serfs.

 

Something panged in Izuku’s heart, a quick burst of emotion that he couldn’t identify. Jealousy, maybe? He didn’t know. All he knew is that when he looked upon Kacchan standing there, atop a slightly raised pile of sand, explosions crackling merrily in his palms, all he could think was:

 

_‘That should be me. I should be on top. I should be king.’_


	2. Eyes of Molten Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku was seven years old when he decided to never ever use his Quirk ever again.

Izuku was six years old when his radiation output finally dropped to a level that even his most excited tears, his most wild cheers, and most intense rages barely produced even the slightest increase in clicks out of the geiger counter perpetually strapped to his wrist.

 

Izuku was seven years old when his radiation output spiked high enough that the geiger counter on his wrist short circuited and died, and he created an area that was considered dangerously radioactive for years to come.

 

Izuku was seven years old when he decided to never ever use his Quirk ever again.

 

To think, it had started so simply.

 

Izuku awoke bright and early, bouncing out of bed with endless energy. He got dressed, brushed his teeth, and skipped out of his radiation-proofed room with a smile on his face. He was excited, of course, for his first day of school.

 

“Mama! Mama!” Izuku cried, hopping in place as he showed off his backpack. “First day of school! First day of school!”

 

Inko smiled indulgently, picking Izuku up with the aid of her Quirk and setting him down at the table. “First day of school or not, Izuku, you need to eat,” she idly brushed her hand through his hair, smoothing the unruly curls down in a futile effort to try and make it less of a mess. It never worked, but it always made Izuku calm down, even at his most excited or most terrified.

 

Izuku ate quickly, scarfing down his breakfast with a speed comparable to a garbage disposal or an industrial shredder, his stomach glowing briefly and outlining itself against the skin of his abdomen for a brief second as the furnace within him converted his food into pure energy. “I’m done eating! Let’s go let’s go!”

 

Inko sighed and shook her head, “Izuku, we don’t have to leave for another half hour, and even then, we’ll still be there early.”

 

“Can I go to Kacchan’s house, then?” Izuku looked up at Inko for a moment and she sighed, nodding almost reluctantly.

 

“Alright,” she agreed finally, “but you two have to leave when Mitsuki tells you to, alright? I don’t want you to be late, okay?”

 

“Mm! Okay mama!” Izuku beamed with a ten thousand watt smile, skipping out the door into the early morning light. He crossed the street, humming quietly under his breath as he made his way over to the Bakugou household, knocking on the door when he arrived.

 

“Ah, Izuku!” Mitsuki said as she opened the door, the cheery smile on her face completely at odds with how she was holding Kacchan under one arm, the six year old grumbling fitfully as explosions rocked through his hands from the sheer humiliation of being carried like a sack of potatoes. “Maybe you can knock some sense into this little brat, hmm? He refuses to get ready for school no matter how much I yell at him.”

 

“Kacchan!” Izuku frowned reproachfully, much to Katsuki’s displeasure. “You need to get ready! Mama said we have to leave by um…. By eight!”

 

“Fuck off!” Kacchan screeched, yelping when Mitsuki bopped him on the head.

 

“Language!”

 

“FUCK YOU, HAG!” Kacchan roared, tiny firecracker bursts igniting once more as he finally wiggled free of Mitsuki’s arms and stormed inside, shouting angrily as he readied himself for school.

 

“Honestly, what am I going to do with him?” Mitsuki sighed, then waved Izuku inside. “Have you eaten yet, Izuku?”

 

“Mhmm! I have!” Izuku nodded, beaming up at Mitsuki, the tiny stump of his growing tail wagging behind him.

 

“That’s good.” Mitsuki nodded and left Izuku to his own devices while she wrangled Katsuki into something presentable.

 

Half an hour later, precisely at 8 am, the two left for their first day of school, Mitsuki and Inko following along closely behind them.

 

* * *

 

The first day of school was, while not the pivotal moment in question, important nonetheless.

 

Bakugou Katsuki had, for the first time, become a single fish in a rather large pond compared to what he had been through before- being the leader of a group of precocious children was far different from being just another kid, albeit a powerful one, in a class of thirty. Even his and Izuku’s two years of kindergarten had been different- everyone there had been so impressed with Katsuki’s Quirk that he gained all of their admiration almost instantly.

 

But elementary school…

 

Izuku became popular fast due to his bright smile, his kind nature, his natural intelligence and willing to help whenever he could.

 

Katsuki became ignored, left to the side save for the small group of friends who had stayed with him due to his sour attitude and penchant for shouting at even the smallest provocation. The school called his mother many times within the first few months, the repeated punishments for cursing and using his Quirk in class raging upon his short temper until he was left more angry than not most of the time.

 

Izuku bore the brunt of his rage, coming home day after day with smoky hair and burnt clothing after Katsuki decided to roughhouse a little too intensely. His smile never wavered though, even when his skin was blistered and red, his cheeks smudged with ash. After all, Kacchan was his friend, right? So even if he was angry, he could take it. Because his skin was tougher than most, and Katsuki wasn’t strong enough to really hurt him.

 

Inko worried though- Katsuki had much the same temper as Mitsuki had when they were children, but Inko had never dealt with Mitsuki’s rage the way Izuku bore the pain and fire of Katsuki’s explosions.

 

Still, she couldn’t stop him, not unless she was willing to watch over the two every moment they were together. So she was left worrying about Izuku- not for his health, no, Izuku healed fast enough that even a deep cut was gone by the next day, but for his emotions. If Izuku was pushed over the edge and ended up accidentally activating his Nuclear Heart without restraining it…

 

Inko took a breath, calming herself and coming back to the present. Halfway through the school year, in early October. The weather was beginning to cool, the leaves began to turn orange, and the streets were flooded with all manner of Halloween paraphernalia that Inko would end up ignoring since she had no desire to dress up and party. Izuku and Katsuki were at school, and wouldn’t be home until the afternoon.

 

“Do you think Katsuki is getting any better?” she asked Mitsuki, sitting across from her in the Bakugou household’s kitchen. “I keep seeing Izuku coming home with burns but lately it seems like they’ve dropped off a little bit… not that any amount of burns is good, though.”

 

Mitsuki pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, thinking back to Katsuki’s mood.

 

“I think he’s been… a little less of a shitbag,” Mitsuki conceded, shrugging lightly as she poured herself a cup of tea. “Still refuses to act like a good kid, not like Izuku.”

 

“I just wish he would stop trying to hurt Izuku, even if he does have thick skin,” Inko worried her lip between her teeth.

 

Mitsuki nodded, humming in agreement.

 

They sat together in companionable silence, the only noise being a faint clicking from Inko’s waist- her personal geiger counter, linked to the device on Izuku’s wrist. The sound was quiet, slow, barely above background radiation levels.

 

It would not last.

* * *

 

“Kacchan, what are you doing!?” Izuku cried out, rushing forward between him and their classmate on the ground. “Why are you hitting him!?” Izuku pushed Kacchan away, not even noticing the surprised look on Kacchan’s face as he knelt by their classmate- Fujioka Jin, the only Quirkless student in their class.

 

“Are you alright, Fujioka-kun?” Izuku asked gently, inspecting his fellow first grader for any sign that Kacchan had tried to blow him up. Thankfully, there was nothing, save for some bruising around his arms.

 

“He got in my way!” Kacchan growled, clawing his hands as tiny firecrackers bloomed to life, crackling away as he stepped forward, the expression on his face completely at odds with the cheerful clothing his mother forced him into. “I was gonna go on the slide next!”

 

“That doesn’t make it okay to push him off and beat him up!” Izuku retorted, hot, steaming tears forming in his eyes as Fujioka scuttled away from the playground, running away from the brewing conflict. “He can’t handle what I can!”

 

“So?” Kac- no, Katsuki snorted, his friends arrayed behind him and cheering on their ever so terrifying leader. “He shouldn’t have gotten in my way. Duh.”

 

“But that’s bullying!” Izuku pleaded for Katsuki to at least feel bad, but to no avail. Katsuki growled and glared at Izuku, the sparks growing more powerful as his rage made his body heat up.

 

“So what!? He’s a useless Quirkless kid anyway!” Katsuki finally shouted, swiping at Izuku with his Explosion dialed to full power, striking him with a burst of heat and force that shredded his sleeve and left blackened starburst scorches across his left upper arm.

 

Izuku yelped from the sudden pain, but stood his ground, staring determinedly at his wayward friend. “I won’t let you bully anyone, no matter if they’re Quirkless or not!” he widened his stance, raising his fists in his best approximation of a boxer’s guard. “And if you have to take it out on me, then do it! Just leave him alone!”

 

“Tch! Whatever! I’ll beat you up later!” Katsuki stuffed his hands in his pockets and stormed off, his friends grouped around him and shooting Izuku odd looks, as if he was the weird one.

 

Izuku relaxed, the slowly building heat inside of his heart dying down as his watch returned to its usual quiet _tick tick tick_ of the background UV rays from the sun.

 

Everything was fine.

 

Kacchan would go blow off steam by setting sticks and bugs on fire, Fujioka-san would probably avoid Kacchan more so that he wouldn’t get hurt, and Izuku only had a ruined sleeve this time around!

 

A plus for all sides, in Izuku’s opinion, though he knew that Fujioka-san’s mom wouldn’t agree.

 

And then everything went to hell when someone _screamed_.

* * *

 

“Hey, Inko?” Mitsuki asked, cocking her head and setting down her tea.

 

“Yes?” Inko asked, quirking her eyebrow. “What is it?”

 

“Is uh… is your geiger counter getting louder?”

 

“.... Oh no.”

 

As soon as Inko and Mitsuki looked down to the box strapped to her hip, it let out a piercing _shriek_ , the normal light crackling transitioning into a full, shrill alarm as the lights upon it flashed and then suddenly _died_ , the device falling silent as the other end disconnected, the only sign the device still functioned being the single, blinking, LED that denoted a fatal error.

 

“Izuku….” Inko muttered, chewing her lip, “What did you _do_ …?”

 

“.... Probably _that_ ,” Mitsuki pointed out the window, drawing Inko’s attention to the rising column of thick, black, tarry smoke that crackled with sparks of flame, its base obscured by an orange glow centered right on the playground nearest to Katsuki and Izuku’s school.

 

“.... Oh.”

* * *

 

When asked about what happened that day in the park, Midoriya Izuku would only ever clam up, shaking with terror, his eyes wide with fear. He never said a word, but from the reactions and statuses of those around him, it was all too clear.

 

Shishiguro Tetsuken, the criminal who had tried to take one of Izuku’s classmates hostage, was hospitalized for life, his limbs burned down to bone and his organs barely functioning as radiation poisoning granted him a slow, painful death over the course of several years.

 

The few parents at the scene were put on watch for high risk of cancer.

 

Bakugou Katsuki became uncharacteristically meek and quiet around Izuku, his arms and neck dotted with pitted scars burnt almost down to the bone for years to come.

 

Midoriya Inko withdrew her son from elementary school until he felt safe enough to go out again several years later.

 

Bakugou Mitsuki’s  hands and arms were permanently scarred from handling scorching wreckage.

 

Haika Hito, the unlucky classmate who had been held hostage, had been hospitalized for radiation poisoning, only saved from third degree burns by his Quirk, Firefighter.

 

In the wake of the disaster, Izuku retreated into himself, only able to think of one thing for years to come.

 

_ It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. _

  



	3. Bones of Hardened Steel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time someone told him to believe in himself, to believe that his Quirk was his own and that he could save people with it, Izuku was fourteen years old.
> 
> That person was All Might.

The first time anyone told Izuku he could be a hero, he was six years old.

 

He swiftly began to deny it when he was seven, to the point that he would begin sobbing when anyone mentioned his once shining desire to become one of the pillars that held up society.

 

Katsuki never again mentioned heroes around Izuku, not when even being around him made his mottled scars twinge with a reminiscence of the pain Izuku had inflicted that fateful day.

 

The first time someone told him to believe in himself, to believe that his Quirk was his own and that he could save people with it, Izuku was fourteen years old.

 

That person was All Might.

* * *

 

 

“A-A-ALL MIGHT!?” Izuku screeched in both amazement and surprise, scuttling backwards from his idol- who was, unexpectedly, wearing civilian garb rather than his famous uniform. “W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?” At his wrist, his geiger counter sparked slightly, ruined from the pressure clamping down mere minutes ago, when the sludge-like villain had tried to drown him in his own body.

 

“I was just in the area!” his idol cheerfully responded, giving him a salute. “But enough about me, are you injured, kid? How’s that tail?”

 

“I-I’m fine!” Izuku responded quickly, rummaging through his bag. “C-can I have your-?”

 

“Autograph? Already done!” All Might held out Izuku’s trusty Hero Analysis and Speculation Notebook (Vol. 24), his signature scrawled in block letters across an entire two pages.

 

Izuku felt faint, trembling in his sneakers- it wasn’t just that his idol, his favorite hero had saved him and given him his autograph, but that a  _ true _ hero was right there in front of him. He bit his lip, trying to find his voice as All Might stuffed the sludge villain into an empty soda bottle and stuffed the bottle into his pocket.

 

“W-wait! A-all Might!” Izuku finally called out, giving the large man pause. His tail swished behind him anxiously, waiting for the man to respond.

 

“Hm? Sorry, I don’t have time to chat, kid. I need to get this guy to the police before he wakes up.” All Might made to leave again, patting the bottle at his thigh.

 

“I um… wait!” Izuku blindly rushed forward, his heart  _ thump-thump _ ing to life just for a moment as he leapt forward with speed he didn’t know he had and-

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”

 

“KID LET GO! I KNOW YOU’RE A FAN BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS! OI! YOUNG MAN!”

 

“IF I LET GO FROM THIS HEIGHT I’LL PROBABLY DIE!”

 

“Oh. Shit! You’re right!” All Might ceased his wild flailing, allowing Izuku to get a better grip as the hero angled their descent to land upon a close by skyscraper.

 

“That was reckless and stupid, young man!” All Might chastised Izuku as soon as he was safely placed onto the roof. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I  _ really _ must be going!”

 

“Wait! Please! I only have one question!” Izuku darted forward, All Might just barely dodging his attempt to hold on once again.

 

“Make it quick, kid, I don’t have a lot of time!” All Might frantically backed towards the railing of the building, feeling the pressure internally as he ran over his time limit.

 

“I-I- that is, um! C-can I…. Can I be a hero without using my Quirk!?” Izuku finally shouted, eyes clenched shut to spare himself from the rejection he’d surely face.

 

“Shit!”

 

“A-All Might?” Izuku cracked an eye open and-

 

“AAAAHHH! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU ALL MIGHT!?”

 

-nearly fainted for the second time that day.

* * *

 

 

After a complex explanation that left Izuku’s head spinning, the young boy finally went home, All Might having left with the explanation that he was running late for a meeting some minutes prior. Still, though, it wasn’t a total loss for him.

 

All Might, upon having learned of the dangers of his Quirk, had said that he  _ could _ become a hero… but he’d still need to use his Quirk- specifically, the parts of his Quirk that didn’t rely on his thermonuclear heart to work. His above average strength and speed, his hardened nails that he could use as metal rending claws, his sharp teeth, his tail, even his gills and buoyant body that let him swim at speeds almost nobody without a specific speed or water quirk could match. And, if he was extra super careful, he could probably use his fire breath as long as his heart didn’t start reacting from the heat.

 

Izuku almost fainted again at the thought- he could be a hero! Just… maybe not the best, but Izuku never wanted to be the best anyway.

 

Explosions nearby broke him from his dazed reverie, however, as the evening stillness was broken by screams and devastation. There! In the distance!

 

“Oh no…” Izuku murmured, clasping a hand over his mouth as his heart  _ thump-thump _ ed to life for the barest instant, his temperature spiking with fear and buried rage. 

 

The sludge villain, who Izuku had thought was taken to the police, had somehow gotten free and had-

 

“KACCHAN!” Izuku shouted, rushing forward without a plan, desperation building in his eyes. “LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO!”

 

Katsuki struggled, trying not to drown in the putrid mass, his sweat floating away from his hands before he could blow up the bastard drowning him in his own body and fueling the flames at the ends of the villain’s tendrils.

 

“Kacchan! Hang in there!” Izuku flung his backpack, distracting the villain with a shower of school supplies and books just long enough for him to reach in and  _ yank! _

 

“AARGH! YOU AGAIN!?” the villain growled, rippling with rage as the two boys skittered back, hot on their tails before he was driven off by a wave of water from Backdraft. 

 

“You kids get back!” the hero shouted as the rest of the heroes clustered around moved forward to subdue the villain. It wasn’t enough; the villain was too slippery for Mount Lady to grab without expanding and causing property damage, too agile for Backdraft to cage in with water, too liquid for Kamui Woods to bind, too soft for Death Arms to punch into submission.

 

From off to the side, Izuku desperately searched for a way to help, Katsuki hanging half limp in his arms as he tried to catch his breath. 

 

Things seemed hopeless- there weren’t any heroes nearby who could catch the villain, they were barely keeping him from fleeing as it was. But if more arrived, they wouldn’t be able to-

 

“GOTCHA!” the villain crowed gleefully, enveloping and capturing another member in the crowd that had gotten too close. “STAY BACK OR I’LL DROWN THIS WOMAN!”

 

“No!” Izuku shouted, mirrored by Katsuki and the rest of the crowd. 

 

Off to the side, All Might bit his lip, clutching his wounded side as guilt warred in his mind- should he push past his limit and save the day? Should he wait for another hero to arrive?

 

“LET HER GO!” Izuku’s voice, twisted and enraged, deep and guttural in a way that was inhuman almost, cut through his musings and shocked him into the present once more.

 

“Young Midoriya…” he muttered under his breath, fearful beyond compare- if the boy lost control or just outright  _ lost _ to the villain, there would be a nuclear disaster on their hands! Surely he had to know that!

 

“No! Get back!” All Might whispered to himself, the same sentiment shouted by the heroes once again pushed back to a standoff, his legs almost shaking, but at the same time his heart soared and sang, “Do it! Save her!”

 

And save her he did.

 

With monstrous strength, Izuku dashed forward, his spiked tail slamming into the villain’s eyes and knocking the woman free from his grip as he lost cohesion from the pain. Even as Izuku slipped in the villain’s body and fell to the ground, the woman dashed away to safety.

 

And, before Izuku could be caught, All Might decided and sprang into action with a cry of, “DETROIT SMASH!”

 

Izuku wept with relief.

 

Katsuki shuddered in long since repressed terror.

 

The heroes reprimanded Izuku for a whole hour, then the paramedics doubled that time.

 

Finally, as Izuku trudged home, exhausted and kicking himself for being so reckless, All Might appeared before him once more, shrunken and skeletal, arms wide as he proclaimed:

 

“Young Midoriya, you have great potential, but it’s buried under self doubt and lack of experience. If you’d like, I can train you, set you on the path to being a true Hero.”

 

Izuku didn’t think even for a second before he shouted, “Yes!”

* * *

 

 

The next morning, Izuku was sorely regretting his decision when he finally made his way to the dumping ground that was Dagobah Beach at four in the morning.

 

“Eh? Who’s this?” Izuku asked, blinking blearily up at the tall, blonde teenager that All Might had brought with him. “Is… he your son…?”

 

“What!?” All Might spat blood, coughing in surprise as he lost his concentration and deflated, the boy laughing awkwardly as they both sputtered denials. “No no! No such thing! This is Togata Mirio, who I met yesterday- that meeting I was late to, if you remember, young Midoriya.”

 

“O-oh… then um… why is he here?” Izuku asked, tilting his head to the side as his tail formed an almost question mark shaped curlicue. Indeed, Mirio seemed almost as confused as Izuku, though a little bit less awestruck at All Might’s presence.

 

“Remember when I said that I was injured six years ago?” All Might asked, Izuku nodding his affirmation. “Well… that’s not the whole story. I won’t bore you with the semantics but my Quirk, One for All, can be passed down kind of like an Olympic torch. Young Togata here was the candidate set up by my old friend Sir Nighteye. He’ll be training with us since it’s far less complicated than having to move around a whole bunch, especially with my time limit.”

 

“W-wait, me!?” Mirio exclaimed, looking at All Might with open shock on his face. “I mean, I knew that Sir said I was going to be chosen for  _ something _ but- that is, this is…”

 

“Unbelievable?” All Might offered with a light chuckle. “Perhaps. But, as it is, we’ve wasted enough time. Young Togata, you are  _ almost _ at a level proper for receiving One for All. If I passed it on now, I have no doubts that you would be able to use it quite well… however, your body is uniquely suited to using your Quirk, not mine. Ergo, we must train your body, just to make sure your limbs won’t explode off.”

 

“Explode!?” Mirio and Izuku exclaimed at once, fear in Mirio’s eyes and worry in Izuku’s.

 

“Mm. Explode. Don’t worry, though, young Togata! This specially made plan will help you to become the optimal vessel for One for All!” All Might handed Mirio a sheet of paper, produced from his back pocket. “And as for you, young Midoriya… I’ll be honest, I’m at a loss as to how to help you. Your strength is quite a bit above average, so I can help you through strength and speed training. However, I cannot help you with the depths of your Quirk.”

 

“T-that’s fine, All Might sir!” Izuku jolted, vibrating in place as he tried to reassure All Might. “S-strength training will be enough! I’ll do my best!”

 

“Good. I’ll try and contact some colleagues to assist in the other aspects of your power Now… your training begins today! We’ll start by cleaning up this beach!”

 

Izuku and Mirio paused, taking in the mountains of trash around them.

 

Oh dear.

 

Ohhh dear.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [My Hero Academia; King's Rise](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19350352) by [Blackenergy666](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackenergy666/pseuds/Blackenergy666)




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